DALTON, Mass. — A plan to address the dilapidated condition of the house at 27 Mountain View Terrace is coming together, the homeowner says during Wednesday's Board of Health Meeting. 

 

Roberta Steele and her niece, Kathleen Winterstein, have been working to develop a plan to address the condition of the home since the last Board of Health meeting in June. 

 

Two weeks ago, Health Agent Agnes Witkowski received a photo from a neighbor of a dead rat on their property. 

 

Witkowski did an updated inspection and required that the owner of 27 Mountain View set traps. 

 

She spoke to the owner of Action Pest Management, who suggested that Steele take care of the lawn first so that they have a clearer picture of what is going on without the accumulation of wood. 

 

Winterstein said Steele has been making progress cleaning the yard up on her own using a manual rotary cutter, but she needs help, which is why she is hiring LeBeau Business Group.

 

Steele said she was meeting with somebody from LeBeau the next day about taking care of the lawn and hoped it would be done within the next few days. Pest control will follow up after that. 

 

She was instructed by Witkowski to provide her with the details regarding the wood clearance and the scheduling for pest control within the next two weeks. Steele felt that was reasonable. 

 

"I think they know the situation is what it is, so God willing, we will have this address," she said, referring to the property management company. "If not this week, it should be taken care of by next week. And then the pest control would follow after that."

 

Winterstein also spoke with the pest control company Orkin. If Action Pest Management is unavailable to take care of the pest issue, Orkin can, if given a week's lead time. 

 

"I think to say that we can get this done in a couple of weeks is very reasonable," Winterstein said. 

 

"Just from being at the last meeting, I know that a lot of the neighbors' biggest complaints had to do with rats. There are obviously other issues, but it seems like that's one that legitimately clearing the yard and having the landscaping done could make a major impact. I would really stress that that be done immediately," co-Chair Robert Kinzer said.

 

Winterstein agreed but also said, when speaking to Orkin, they were surprised that one house on the block was being singled out as causing the rat issues. 

 

Based on their reports, Dalton has a "pretty high rat population, and they get a lot of reports about Dalton on their radar," Winterstein said.

 

"It's rare that it's a single house issue. It's usually a community issue, and they're coming from all over."

 

"I view my role, as to balance the interest of the community. A lot of community members said, 'We have this issue,' and when they look in their community, there's one particular house that's, I've seen the photos, in significant disrepair," Kinzer said. 

 

Witkowski added that the homeowners in the surrounding areas are also treating their homes, which is why the neighbors are urging that pests be treated at 27 Mountain View Terrace. She said treatment has to be done professionally before any demolition. 

 

Winterstein reassured everyone that they will be taking care of the pests on the property. 

 

Steele expressed her frustration that everyone is "blaming" her for the pest problem and emphasized that she has not seen any rats on the property when she is there. 

 

She said she is not saying the problem doesn't exist, but feels she is not totally responsible, "like these people seem to want to believe. They need somebody to put the blame on, and I'm the victim."

 

Witkowski said she doesn't think anybody is blaming her. Everyone is treating their property on both sides of her home. However, something important to bring up is that the property needs to be treated before the demolition, she said. 

 

Winterstein confirmed that no demolition will take place until the pest problem is taken care of. 

 

A neighbor said someone from Action Pest Management came to his property and told him the rats were most likely coming from there. They "noticed two large traps that were already there when I bought my house back in 2020 that were not part of his company," he said. 

 

"But, he stated that they were placed specifically on both sides of my back property because the abandoned property next door was most likely the source of the rats that I was seeing." 

 

Steele has also been moving things out of the house and has hired someone to assist, Winterstein said. 

 

"The first part of the plan, obviously, is the lawn and the pest control, and then we're trying to get everything cleared out in time for that Aug. 1, hopefully, that the contractor would be able to come in and start working on things," Winterstein said. 

 

Neighbors asked if this clearing of the home may be disrupting the pests and causing them to run onto other properties. 

 

The board advised Steele to purchase in-home traps to reduce the risk to the neighbors of rats leaving the property if disturbed by clearing the home. 

 

Next week, Witkowski will visit the property to ensure these traps have been placed. 

 

Winterstein has obtained a tentative estimate based on pictures and descriptions of $85,000 to $90,000 from Wfthird Construction. Steele and Winterstein are working on setting an appointment with them to come and look at the property. 

 

"And his brother has a lawn service, so if there's anything remaining needing to be done in the yard, they could kind of clear things out altogether at the same time so that the demo would be completed," Winterstein said. 

 

"The plan for that actually would be that we could get the demo done before the next meeting in mid-August."

 

In other news, the board elected Robert Kinzer and Nancy Hopper as co-chairs. Kinzer is an attorney, and Hopper is a nurse. The decision passed unanimously. 

 

Board member Edward F. Gero said these backgrounds would be useful to the board.